Lillian Offitt was born on November 4,1938 near Nashville, Tennessee.
She had always been interested in music and began to seriously think of being a
performer during her days as a student at Tennessee State University. On the
evidence of her half dozen releases, Lillian Offitt was a plain but lusty blues
shouter, of small stature and commensurate talent. She was still attending
college when she visited the offices of Nashboro Records in the hope of making
a gospel record. Owner Ernie Young suggested that she try secular music. In
March of 1957 she made her first record for the Nashboro subsidiary Excello
with “Miss You So” b/w “If You Only Knew” released on # 2104.

The 'A' side “Miss You So” started out as a good seller on the R & B
charts. In June Offitt went to Chicago and made some personal appearances in
support of her record which shows up as a top seller in that city. In August in
Gary, Indiana, a big show honoring Vivian Carter on her eighth anniversary at
radio station WWCA included Lillian Offitt performing live. Also on the bill were
Magic Sam, The Spaniels, Dale Hawkins, The Dells, and many others. During Labor
Day week in Chicago, Lillian appeared with Al Benson at the Regal Theater along
with Red Prysock, Sil Austin, Amos Milburn, Ivory Joe Hunter, and The Spaniels.
In September Lillian signed on for a five week tour through the south and
southwest along with Lowell Fulson, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and Ernie
Freeman. The tour would kick off in Oklahoma City.

Late in the year Lillian Offitt moved to Chicago where she had a steady
number of club dates and soon recorded her second side for Excello Records. “Just
Lonesome! That's All” b/w “Darling I'll Forgive You” on # 2124. Through the
early months of 1958 Offitt tried to repeat the success of “Miss You So” and in
the spring Excello released “Darling Please Don't Change” b/w “Can't Go On” on
# 2139. This record too failed to break into the top sellers and failed to get
considerable airplay and soon Excello dropped her from the label’s roster.

Earl Hooker

In 1959 she began an extended stay as vocalist with Earl Hooker and his
combo. Through Hooker, she met Mel London, owner of Chief Records. She was
signed to record for the local Chief Records label in Chicago. “The Man Won't
Work” b/w “Will My Man Be Home Tonight” on Chief # 7012. Continuing into the
nineteen sixties, Lillian Offitt continued to perform and record with Earl
Hooker. “Oh Mama” b/w “My Man Is A Lover” was issued by Chief on # 7015. In
late 1960 her last effort for Chief was “Troubles” b/w “Shine On” on # 7029.
She appeared at such Chicago clubs as Roberts Show Lounge and the Shangri-La. She left music to start a family, preventing her from joining the 1964 American Folk Blues Festival tour, her place taken by Sugar Pie DeSanto. She was last sighted in 1974 as part of the Streakers Rated-X Revue in St. Joseph, Michigan. Lillian
Offitt then worked outside of the music field for many years in Chicago.

Terry Corin took several shots at the teen tune brass ring back in the
early '60s, but came up empty. It sure wasn't for the lack of trying. She first
recorded solo and later with vocal backing. The nifty “My Ding Dong Heart” on
the Mohawk Records label, which kick-started Dion & The Belmonts career a
few years earlier, was recorded in their tiny studio on Broadway in the Big
Apple. She also put out several singles as Terry Corin & The Mellos and
Terry Corin & Her Boy Friends (“Twistin’ & Cryin’ All Alone”, “Dream
Date”, and “Sick! Sick! Sick!”) but they all failed to chart nationally. “The
Bells Of St. Mary” charted on Music Vendor for 4 weeks starting December 5,
1960, reaching #80.

Tiny Topsy was one of those marvellous big-voiced women of the mid to
late 50s, in the vocal style of Big Maybelle, LaVern Baker and Big Mama Thornton, who possessed a set of lungs to match her 250 pound physique. She was
born May 22, 1930 in Chicago and began performing with Al Smith’s band in
Chicago in 1945. This group split in 1952, with Smith becoming an in-house band
leader for the likes of Chance, Parrot and Vee-Jay, but without Tiny's
involvement.

Tiny's first recording session for Federal Records was held in Cincinnati on July 9, 1957
and resulted in the bouncy "Aw! Shucks Baby", with a great tenor solo
by Ray Felder. Backing group were The Charms (with no mention on the label). It
was a screamer equal of LaVern Baker. The flip was a cover of “Miss You So”, a
Top 10 R&B hit for Lillian Offitt. A third
track from this session, "A Woman's Intuition", remained unissued
until 1988.

On her next single “Come On, Come On, Come On” b/w “Ring Around My
Finger” she was backed by The Charms again, and this time The Charms got label
credit. Her following single was “You Shocked Me” b/w “Waterproof Eyes. “Come
On, Come On, Come On” and “You Shocked Me” were kick ass rockers in the vein of
Etta James.

Tiny Topsy's fourth Federal single “Western Rock 'N Roll” b/w “Cha Cha
Sue” is a very interesting one. “Western Rock 'n' Roll” incorporates snippets
of then-current hits (“Lollipop”, “At The Hop”, “Get A Job”, “Short Shorts”).
It opens with gunshots and was released before “Western Movies” by The Olympics. So it looks like the sound effects on “Western Movies” were inspired
by “Western Rock 'n' Roll” instead of the other way round.

Tiny Topsy certainly was a trendsetter, because her next single (and her
last one for Federal) was the original of what has become a classic : “Just A
Little Bit”, paired with “Everybody Needs Some Loving”. Rosco Gordon had a # 2 R&B hit with his version of
“Just A Little Bit” in 1960 and the song has been covered by countless people,
including Jerry Lee Lewis “Southern Roots” album. After leaving Federal Tiny
Topsy had only one further single released, "Working On Me Baby",
coupled with “How You Changed” (Argo 5383). An alternate take of “Aw! Shucks
Baby” with “Everybody Needs Some Loving “on the flipside was released by King Records in 1963.

Jet, September 3, 1964

Jet, September 10,1964

Although Tiny Topsy never became a big name star and frequent occupier
of the charts, her records were always great She died on August 16, 1964 at the very young
age of 34 of brain hemorrhage in Chicago.